Two patients die in Bareilly hospital fire

Two women patients died in a fire that broke out at a private hospital in Bareilly district during the wee hours of Monday.

Acting DM Satendra Singh has ordered a magisterial investigation into the incident. (HT)

Two women patients died in a fire that broke out at a private hospital in Bareilly district during the wee hours of Monday.

Superintendent of police (SP), Bareilly, Rohit Singh Sajwan said the fire broke out in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Sai hospital on Stadium road at 3 am.

“The deceased have been identified as Rajbala Devi (50) and Mangala Devi (60). Police have registered a suo motu complaint and started investigation into the incident,” he said.

“A male patient, who was also in the same ward, was rescued and shifted to another hospital. A spark in one of the three convection room heaters is said to be the cause of fire,” Sajwan said.

As Bareilly district magistrate Raghvendra Vikram Singh is on leave, acting DM Satendra Singh has ordered a magisterial investigation into the incident.

“The CMO and an SDM will look into the matter and submit their findings by Thursday,” he said.

Chief medical officer (CMO) of Bareilly Dr Vineet Shukla inspected Sai hospital and said its licence would be suspended if laxity was detected on the part of the hospital administration.

Owner of the hospital Dr Sharad Agarwal termed the deaths of patients as tragic and said: “The ICU ward was constructed as per the guidelines. We are ready to co-operate with the authorities in investigation.”

The family members of the deceased patient Rajbala claimed that the assistants deployed at the ICU fled as the fire broke out.

“We were left alone. The entire ward was filled with smoke. It was very difficult to see anything,” said Rajbala’s grandson Sachin Verma.

Eyewitnesses said the ward did not have fire extinguishers and had no ventilation. The hospital staff had to break the windowpanes to control the fire.

The SP said the ICU was on the second floor of the hospital and could be accessed through a single door.

“The absence of an emergency exit made rescue operation difficult,” he said.